The Biggest Hiring Mistake
Why changing the way you hire is an important growth strategy for your organization 

We’re in the middle of an economic downturn! We all know this, and we’ve all been impacted in one way or another by the current state of our economy. Companies are laying off employees and downsizing, and I’m over here writing a column about The Biggest Hiring Mistake you’re making right now. A bit off base? 

Perhaps at first glance, but we are not going to be in this cycle forever and as a business owner, leader, or hiring manager — it’s more important now than ever before that you hire the right talent at the right time for your company’s growing and ever-changing needs. 

I’ve spent countless hours over the past several months working with and coaching a lot of people that have been displaced due to the current economic environment. Some of them were employed with the same company for years, decades even, to loyally serving their company, only to be let go when the time c...

Understanding and Preventing Burnout
Where to start when it comes to stopping burnout in your life

Each and every one of us are going through something right now. We're all experiencing everything that life is throwing at us a little bit differently. 

Some of us are dealing with kids going back to school, in person or virtually, or maybe a combination of both.  There are those of us that are trying to figure out return-to-work strategies, if we’re even going back to the office at all. Some families are trying to deal with both adults working from home at the same time and deciding what the long-term work life balance looks like.

Some of us are trying to determine how to grow our businesses and thrive in crazy economic times, and I could go on and on, but you get the point — life has dealt us an unexpected hand of craziness and challenges right now. Our current circumstances create stress and anxiety for all of us, and all of these things and other, unspoken circumstances can all lead...

Habits To Propel You To The Success You Want 

As a high performance coach, I talk about habits with my clients during each and every coaching session. We discuss the importance of habits, how to build them, and which ones are important for them personally. Embracing positive change and developing the right habits to move your life and career forward is a founding principal of high performance.

According to best-selling author and founder of the High Performance Institute, Brendon Burchard:

“The right habits have the ability to help you achieve long-term success and vibrant well-being no matter your age, career, strengths or personality.”

Developing good habits takes time and effort. The Oxford Research Encyclopedia indicates that within psychology, the term “habit” itself refers to a process whereby context or circumstances prompt action automatically, through activation of mental context-action association learned through prior performance. In fact, there is so much scientific res...

The Most Powerful Sales Tool You Need to Start Using Today!

Sales have changed — forever! Read that again. 

Sales have changed permanently and forever. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at a few facts.

Cold calling is ineffective, if not dead completely. In fact, the success rate of true cold calls is less than 2%, and the success rate of cold emails is less than 3% — so simply put, only 2-3 people out of 100 will actually respond to these methods. And that does not guarantee they’ll actually engage beyond that, much less convert to a sale.

You’re also no longer allowed to simply walk into a building with a stack of catalogs and business cards, going door-to-door passing them out to get the contact info of a buyer. From now on, you’ll have to have an appointment to even get in the building. Always. And to add to all of that — there’s a very high probability that the decision-maker will not be in the office, but working remotely.  

Need more proof that sales have changed forever? Accord...

In-Person Events Are Back, Now What? 

It’s been a long time coming, but in-person events are finally back! For some people, it’s been over 15 months since they’ve been able to go to an event, meet up with friends, connect with new people, and network.  Although it’s been great to meet people virtually and stretch some new social muscles I didn’t know I had from a distance, there is just something special seeing people face-to-face. As an extrovert and somewhat serial networker, I have sincerely missed these activities, and I’m super excited they are back!

The return of these events means the return of networking, and while not everyone is a fan of networking, it’s a critical activity to grow your business, find a new job, and develop meaningful relationships in business. In fact, according to a recent article published by Apollo Technical, “80% of professionals find networking essential to their career success, and almost 100% believe face-to-face meetings build stronger long-term re...

Is the Lunch-N-Learn Dead?

One of the most coveted meetings to get with an A&D Firm has always been a Lunch-N-Learn. To get on the calendar with the major firms, you have to schedule these events way in advance — sometimes starting in January, to ensure you get your spot. These important meetings historically gave you the opportunity to meet with key specifiers for almost an hour and share your latest and greatest products with them.

To prepare for these meetings when I was in sales, we’d spend hours getting ready, preparing our presentation, making sure we had the product samples necessary, enough brochures or fabric samples. We’d spend hundreds of dollars on the right food and drink and coordinating the delivery or pick up. We’d make sure the event was as perfect as it could be — this was the moment for us to shine. This was the face-to-face opportunity we’d been waiting on, sometimes for months, and we always wanted to make sure it was a great meeting.

But then, we’d show up at a...

 What I learned without meaning to: Lessons from a 2021 graduate's dad

I’ve been anticipating the month of May 2021 for some time, and not always with a good, excited anticipation. I knew it was going to be a challenging and emotional month for many reasons, but I’m also excited for the new beginnings it has created. 

As I write this column, we are about halfway through Spring Breakout 2021! What a great event this roadshow has been for so many reasons. I’ve met amazing new people, developed meaningful relationships, eaten some great food, had some good laughs, interacted more than I have in the last 12 months combined, and a bit of fun along the way. If you haven’t been able to join us yet, don’t miss the opportunity to come hang out with us at the Merchandise Mart on Wednesday, June 2nd!

But today, I’m headed home to spend the weekend with my family and then rejoin the group in a few days. I’m headed home to celebrate my daughter and the closing of one chapter in her life and the ...

A New Business Development Strategy

Almost every day, business leaders and salespeople ask me about new, creative ways to find leads, develop opportunities, and build relationships with potential clients. Now more than ever, it can be challenging to reach prospects, especially since most of them are still working from home.

However, business is happening and companies are making decisions about office space, furniture, and making plans for their employees to return to the office. As we’ve all experienced, traditional methods of outreach and networking are not as easy in a virtual world. I’ve written a lot about social selling and things you can do using LinkedIn and other on-line tools, and I hope you are implementing some of these strategies and seeing good results.

But today, I want to share with you how I respond to the question about new leads and why you need to embrace new strategies for today’s market. My answer is one word — Clubhouse! Yes, you need to be on Clubhouse! Now, ...

Lessons in Leadership from Ted Lasso

Back in March, my family and I had the opportunity to take a mini vacation to the Grand Canyon.  What an amazing place to visit — the perfect Spring Break getaway after a year of being at home. On this trip, I met Ted Lasso, an English Premier League soccer coach for AFC Richmond. 

But here’s the thing, Ted is not a real, live human being — he’s a fictional character on AppleTV’s, Ted Lasso, that debuted last October, and I got the pleasure of meeting him while on vacation.

Now, if you know and follow me, you know I don’t watch a lot of TV... in fact, I hardly watch it at all. If I have down time like that, I’m usually reading, listening to a podcast, or just hanging out with my family. But a couple of weeks before our trip, I was chatting with a friend and he shared this series with me, and I decided that while we were traveling, I’d watch it and give myself a break from professional development and growth — we’re on vacation after all.

Little ...

What Did I Learn Today? 

If you follow me, you know I’m an avid learner. I’m always exploring new ideas, ways to improve, new processes, new tools and resources. I learn in a variety of ways, including listening to podcasts, reading, taking online courses, attending seminars, and joining in the conversations on Clubhouse. Learning and growing is something that is part of my daily activity, and though absorbing and retaining tons of information in a short period of time may not be the best learning method for every individual, everyone should focus on growth at some point throughout each day and at a minimum, during at least once each week. 

A few days ago, I came across a very informative article and wanted to share some insights with you (my learning and thoughts) on the information it provided, in order to support you on your learning and growth journey. Remember, learning is a journey, not a race — there's no finish line with growth. If development as a person is important to you,...